A fragment of the outer walls of Ġgantija temple, Gozo, Malta, dated ca. 3600–2500 BC, from the neolithic period. Stone age in other words… To the present knowledge, it is the second oldest standing building in the world. The temple deteriorates more in the last time after an excavation in the 19th century. Getting rid of debris surrounding it has unnecessarily exposed the unique temple to the elements, to say the least and not to mention the subsequent use of the site as the source of building material of the local community. With the earth removed, there is nothing to support the stone walls but the skills of its ancient builders. Smaller stones falling out one by one, the bigger ones following.

The temple, supposed to be the site of Mother Earth worship (a likeable fat Lady, actually), is now a part of an archeology park with a (nice!) museum build lately due to the declaration of the place as a UNESCO world heritage site. Just another tourist attraction with walls now supported here and there with metal scaffolding, unfortunately looking amateurish — and rusting already…

Instead of letting the temple reduce into rubble while tourists are watching and with most of the evidence already secured or… destroyed, it would be better to make a 3D digital model of it, make a nice detailed film for the public and publish it in the internet, and then, yes, give it back to Mother Earth — cover it again with the debris of ages.